Critical Approaches to Theories of Crime

1. Critical Approaches to Theories of Crime Dr Ann Henry Lecture 1: Tuesday 29th October 2013 Forensic & Applied Cognitive Psychology

2. Overview of 6 lectures • Lecture 1 (29/10): Critical Approaches to Theories of Crime • Lecture 2 (5/11): Sexual Offending (Rape) • Lecture 3 (12/11): Sexual Offending (Paedophilia & Child Molesters) • Lecture 4 (19/11): Critical Approaches to Mental Illness, Personality & Crime (part 1) • Lecture 5 (26/11): Critical Approaches to Mental Illness, Personality & Crime (part 2) • Lecture 6 (3/12): Critical Approaches to Offender Profiling (FBI & Statistical)

3. Learning outcomes for Lecture 1 • By the end of the lecture you should be able to: • Briefly define Forensic & Criminal Psychology. • Describe & explain different types of theories of crime e.g. Macro-level or Societal; Community or locality; Group & socialisation influence; Individual/ Psychological: Social Constructionism. • Consider the strengths & limitations of each of these theories.

4. What is Forensic& Criminal Psychology? • Forensic psychology is concerned with the psychological aspects of legal processes in courts. The term is also often used to refer to investigative and criminological psychology: applying psychological theory to criminal investigation, understanding psychological problems associated with criminal behaviour and the treatment of those who have committed offences. • http://careers.bps.org.uk/area/forensic (2013)

5. Where do they work? • The largest single employer of forensic psychologists in the UK is the HM Prison Service. • Forensic psychologists are also be employed rehabilitation units, secure hospitals, the social services and in university departments. Some practitioners also go into private consultancy.

6. Tasks of Forensic Psychologists • The daily key tasks for forensic psychologists may include: • piloting and implementing treatment programmes, modifying offender behaviour, responding to the changing needs of staff and prisoners as well as reducing stress for staff and prisoners.

7. Tasks of Forensic Psychologists • Forensic psychologists also provide: • hard research evidence to support practice, including undertaking statistical analysis for prisoner profiling, giving evidence in court plus advising parole boards and mental health tribunals.

8. Aspects of Forensic Psychology • Social context of crime; Fear of crime • Victims of crime. • Theories of crime; Violent offenders; • Sexual offending. • Police psychology; Terrorism; Eyewitness Testimony. • Offender profiling; lie detecting; false confessions. • Mental Disorders & Crime; Juries & Decision making. • Psychological treatments for prisoners; • Risk assessment, dangerousness & recidivism.

9. Theories of Crime • Howitt (2006) outlines a broad range of theories. • Macro-level or Societal • Community or locality • Group & socialisation influence • Individual/ Psychological

10. Macro-level or Societal • Marxist Conflict theory • Merton’s Strain Theory • Feminist Theory

11. Macro-level or Societal • Marxist conflict theory • Society has evolved in a state of conflict between competing groups in society over material resources & institutionalised power. • Dominant class uses laws to control other groups & maintain its command or hegemony (political leadership)

12. Macro-level or Societal • Merton’s Strain Theory • Recognises that society’s goals (prosperity, achievement etc.) are only available to a limited few. The rest can only achieve goals through deviant means. • Others adapt to the strain by retreating into alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide, vagrancy.

13. Macro-level or Societal • Feminist Theory • Holds that criminality is associated with males. Males seek to maintain power in the gendered social system through the deployment of violence against women & children. • Male control is through their access to power over social institutions such as the law. • Powerless men are inclined to the cruder expressions of power which lead to their imprisonment.

14. Community/ locality Theory • Differential Opportunity theory • Explains the patterns of crime likely to be exhibited by individuals in terms of the range of crime opportunities close to home. • Different individuals display different modes of adjustment or adaptation to their particular social strains.

15. Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Subcultural Delinquency Theories • Differential Association Theory • Lifestyle & Routine Activities Theory • Social Learning Theory • Criminogenic factors in childhood

16. Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Subcultural Delinquency Theories • Youngsters with problems especially to do with the home & school tend to associate with gangs & other groupings in which they can achieve some status. • Through criminal activity, delinquent groups may provide an opportunity to achieve a sense of self-esteem.

17. Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Differential Association Theory • Circumstances of upbringing determines their exposure to crime & pressure to commit crime. • Hence, learning to be a criminal applies to different strata of society e.g. middle class might be exposed to fraud, tax evasion etc.

18. Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Lifestyle & Routine Activities Theory • Argues that most crime is trivial & impulsive – thus elements of opportunism (Cohen & Felson, 1979)

19. Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Social Learning Theory • Bandura (1973, 1983) Vicarious learning through observing other people. • However, doesn’t explain under what circumstances criminal behaviour will or will not be learnt, so has limited explanatory power.

20. Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Criminogenic factors in childhood • Glueck & Glueck, 1962, 1968) claim that the following are antecedents of antisocial & criminal behaviour: • Punitive child-rearing practices & attitudes (strict discipline, corporal punishment, authoritarian attitudes) • Lack of love or rejection • Laxness (poor monitoring, lack of supervision) • Family disruption (separation, divorce, instability, marital conflict) • Deviant parental characteristics (criminality, mental health problems, substance abuse)

21. Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Criminogenic factors in childhood (cont) • Yoshikawa (1995) argued that delinquency is product of interaction of multiplicity of factors: • Neurological & biological factors • Low cognitive ability • Childhood history of antisocial behaviour • Parental substance abuse • Violent or socially disorganised neighbourhoods • Media violence

22. Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Criminogenic factors in childhood (cont) • Farrington (1996) claims that childhood conduct disorder and adult Antisocial Personality Disorder have the same aetiological precursors: • Low family income • Poor housing • Large family size • Convicted parents • Harsh or erratic parental discipline • Low intelligence • Early school leaving

23. Group & Socialisation Influence Theories • Protective factors from delinquency • Farrington (1998) • Personal Resources – resilient youngsters had better technical/spatial intelligence, flexible temperaments, approach-orientated, more positive self-esteem & active coping styles • Social Resources – resilient youngsters were more satisfied with social support & experienced openness, autonomy & low conflict in their residential institution.

24. Individual/Psychological Theories • Personality Theories • Biological Theories • Attachment Theory • Isomorphism hypothesis

25. Individual/ Psychological Theories • Personality Theories • Eysenck’s biosocial theory emphasises link between biological factors, personality & crime. • High extraversion, high psychoticism & high neuroticism

26. Individual/ Psychological Theories • Biological Theories • Genetics e.g. genetic make-up, brain activity, hormonal imbalances • Evolutionary theory – inherited genes • Body shape type: mesomorph, endomorph & ectomorph • Evidence is contradictory and controversial

27. Individual/Psychological Theories • Attachment theory • Based on John Bowlby’s work in 1950s • Bonding & attachment in infancy & early childhood • Internal Working Model • Different types of attachment: Secure and • Insecure • Ainsworth (1970s)- classified insecure into • Anxious-Avoidant, Anxious-Ambivalent & Disorganised

28. Individual/Psychological Theories • Isomorphism hypothesis • Close relationship between the characteristics of abuse and its effect on the victim. • Widom (1989) explored links between childhood abuse and adult criminality. • Victims of physical abuse have highest rates of violent offences (16% of sample) • Victims of neglect had similar levels of violence (13%) • Controls (not abused as children) had 7% risk of violent offending in adulthood • Hence, evidence is inconclusive & other factors need to be taken into consideration (see previous list re criminogenic factors)

29. Intelligence & Crime • Howitt (2006) summarises that there is little reliable evidence of the link between intelligence level and crime. • Controversial topic as also linked to the debate about race and intelligence.

30. Social constructionism & crime • Constructions of crime • Social • Cultural • Historical

31. Lecture Summary • Briefly defined Forensic & Criminal Psychology & the work involved. • Outlined & described different theories of crime: • Macro-level or Societal • Community or locality • Group & socialisation influence • Individual/ Psychological

32. Useful references • Howitt, D. (2012). Introduction to Forensic and Criminal Psychology, 4thed, Harlow, Pearson Education Ltd. • McGuire, M., Morgan, R & Reiner, R. (2007). The Oxford Handbook of Criminology, Oxford, Oxford University Press. • Towl, G.J., Farrington., D.P., Crighton, D.A. & Hughes, G. (2008). Dictionary of Forensic Psychology, Devon, Willan Publishing. • Ward. T. & Stewart, C. (2003). The relationship between human needs and criminogenic needs, Psychology, Crime & Law, Vol. 9(3), pp. 219 -224